Ngounoue continues to impress on and off court after reaching quarters

She may be just 16 years of age, but Clervie Ngounoue of the United States has got a plan.

Ngounoue advanced to the quarter-finals of the girls' draw at the Roland Garros Junior Championships by dispatching Iva Ivanova 6-1 6-2, but there a deeper reasons for her being out on court.

The 16-year-old started playing tennis after being inspired by great players and now she wants to perform that role for others. Empowerment and the ability to empower are as important to her as her serve and forehand. It is even written in bold characters on her website.

“It’s an important thing to me and I try to speak to people through my game as much as I can”, Ngounoue tells itftennis.com. “Inspiring others has driven me for a very long time, so I hope I can keep doing that.

“Serena and Venus Williams were my inspiration, my motivation. I wanted to plaster their pictures on my wall all the time and those are the people I wanted to follow in the footsteps of.”

Ngounoue has big ambitions for her career but she also makes a point of remaining grateful for what she has already accomplished.

“I’m so blessed to be here, ”she said. “It’s a lot of answered prayers that I’m living in right now. It’s easy to forget sometimes because you just get carried away but I’m trying really hard to be grateful for everything I’m going through.

“Even if I’m not at the place I want to be, I can still try to enjoy the moments I’m living right now.”

Ngounoue, who was part of the victorious USA team that topped the podium at the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Juniors Finals, trained at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France.

“I think the extra couple years that I spent here definitely gave me that experience," added Ngounoue. "Being on red clay feels a little more like coming back home. It’s not totally uncomfortable.”

A quarter-finalist at the US Open last year, the teenager, who is seeded No. 2 here, is now aiming for more in Paris. Her last-eight opponent will be 14-year-old Alisa Oktiabreva.

“I would say I forgot about seeds a long time ago," she said. "Anyone can win, there’s absolutely no guarantee. Now when I step into a tournament, I don’t even see a seed in the draw because that doesn’t mean anything at this point.”

Peru's Lucciana Perez Alarcon was also on the victory trail today, dispatching France's Astrid Lew Yan Foon 6-4 7-5 and she will now play her first Junior Grand Slam quarter-final.

“I’m really happy because I played really well in the important moments," Perez Alarcon tells itftennis.com.

Perez Alarcon slides on the clay and sends her forehand spinning like there is no tomorrow, pushed by impeccable footwork and stellar stamina. There will be little surprise to know that her favorite players are Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek. “I’m obviously a clay person," she laughed.

She was beaming after her win, aware that each time she gets deep in tournaments, she helps grow the sport back home.

“Tennis in Peru is growing but we need to continue working hard and just keep going," she said. "It is a really good level here, every match is really tough. There is a little difference with the pro, more mentally than anything else. It’s really similar.”

The 18-year-old has already won nine Junior titles, including three this year at J300 Santa Cruz, J300 Barranquilla and J300 Lima.

She tried swimming and gymnastics as a kid but it was tennis - started when she was four - that she fell in love with thanks to her grandfather. 

“I loved it really much, it was the most beautiful sport I did when I was a little girl," she added. 

Her passion is being rewarded in Paris so far.